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before the United States Tax Court concerning the debtor”,
11 U.S.C. sec. 362(a)(8) (2000).
The automatic stay arises by operation of law upon the
filing of a bankruptcy petition and, absent an order of the
bankruptcy court to the contrary, see 11 U.S.C. sec. 362(d)
(2000), continues unimpaired until the earliest of the closing of
the case, the dismissal of the case, or the grant or denial of a
discharge, see 11 U.S.C. sec. 362(c)(2) (2000); see also Smith v.
Commissioner, 96 T.C. 10, 14 (1991). Petitioners’ bankruptcy
case has been continuously ongoing since before the start of this
proceeding, and we do not find that the bankruptcy court ever
issued an order allowing petitioners to file their petition in
this Court. Because the automatic stay has been in place
throughout this proceeding, and our entering of the parties’
stipulated decision also occurred during that time, our entering
of that decision violated the automatic stay and, hence, the
decision is void. Given that the stipulated decision is void, we
shall vacate it.
We turn to consider the effect of petitioners’ filing of
their petition in this Court given that this filing also occurred
during, and was in violation of, the automatic stay. Although
neither party has asked the Court to decide this issue, the Court
can (and should) sua sponte decide the Court’s jurisdiction
whenever it is in question. See Halpern v. Commissioner, supra;
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Last modified: May 25, 2011